Can you copywrite a proper name?


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Posted by Jennifer McNitt on December 22, 1998 at 13:57:02:

For several years, I have been using the alias 'Kerowyn' when accessing BBSs and when playing games and have created web site called "Kerowyn's Haven". The problem is that when I picked Kerowyn as an alias, it was the name of a character in the book "By the Sword" by Mercedies Lackey. At that time, had never seen this name mentioned before and I have not found the name in any child name books. This makes me believe the name was created by the author of the book.

I have noticed several other people on the Internet using the name 'Kerowyn' as their alias or as part of their web site's name. I'm not acting as if I am the character portrayed in the book. I just liked the name when I saw it.

My husband does not believe I'm breaking any laws. He says that the name "Wendy" didn't exist until the Peter Pan story was written. Now several people use the name "Wendy".

What I need to know is if I breaking any type of copywrite law by using this name on my web site as the name of the site?

Thank you for your help,

Jen McNitt


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